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| Room by Room - Energy Saving Strategies for your House |
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In this article we will be looking room by room at Energy Saving Strategies for your house to help you save money and energy in ways that you may not have considered. By looking at how you spend time and consume energy in each of the main rooms in your house, we will highlight methods to save energy, which is good for both your pocket and the environment.
Kitchen
We spend lots of time in the kitchen, probably more than we realise. The hub of most homes, the kitchen is where we typically use most electricity from cooking to feeding the family, to washing up, making tea and toast, storing food in the fridge/freezer and washing our clothes.
By using some of the following Energy Saving Strategies, especially in the Kitchen, you can make plenty of savings on your bills by simply using existing appliances more efficiently.
- Lighting:
The lighting levels in the kitchen are typically higher than in most other areas of the house and there is generally a large amount of heat output in the kitchen from electrical equipment, especially cookers. Consider installing lower-energy use florescent light bulbs for savings and energy efficiency. - Fridge Freezers:
In looking at appliances that we all use everyday in the kitchen we will initially address Fridge/Freezers, and examine ways that you can make yours run more efficiently. It is very important that you don't let frost build up in the freezer compartment as this increases energy consumption, so try to remember to defrost and clean the inside of your refrigerator and freezer twice a year.
Try to ensure they are positioned in a cool place; avoid placing them next to the cooker or a boiler, and out of direct sunlight. Simply positioning your fridge/freezer in the correct place where it won?t have to work harder to keep cool means it will run more efficiently. Also, regularly check that the door seals on the refrigerator and freezer are tight fitting - the seal should be able to hold a piece of paper in place when the door is closed. If it can?t, then your seal isn?t working correctly and your fridge/freezer is using up more energy to compensate. Try not to put warm or hot food straight into the fridge or freezer - let it cool down first. - Cooking:
When you are cooking in your kitchen, use the following simple tips to help save energy and money off your bill. The oven is expensive to use, so try to use it as efficiently as possible and where possible don't use the oven to cook a single dish - bake a few items at the same time and freeze them for later use if necessary. It is also useful to remember that you can cook at a higher temperature at the top of the oven, and simultaneously at a lower temperature at the bottom. Something to also bear in mind is not to open the oven door to check cooking unless absolutely necessary, as every time you do so you lose 20% of the accumulated heat.
Some of the most efficient ways to cook are by using a slow casserole, pressure cooker, insulated deep fat fryer or microwave oven. These will cook food in energy efficient ways, and they can save both energy and time ? often with better results. Also, put lids on pots and turn down the heat when the water starts to boil. The lids not only keep heat in the pot but also reduce condensation in the kitchen. Indeed, at a certain point in cooking time, try turning off electric rings and let the pots cook with their residual heat.
Don?t forget that if you are heating water for cooking, then use the electric kettle instead of a saucepan on the hob, it?s much quicker and more energy efficient. When using your microwave oven, arrange unevenly shaped items with the thickest portion to the outside as they cook from the outside in. Also make sure to stir or turn the food over to speed up cooking time ? it will also help to avoid heat spots within the food helping it to cook evenly and taste great. Most importantly remember a microwave is always much more efficient than a cooker when it comes to reheating food.
Also, and as much as we all love a snack of tea and toast did you know that the toaster is much more energy efficient than the grill for toasting bread? So always try to toast your bread in a toaster instead of under the grill. Also, when you are making tea or coffee, boil only the amount of water required in your kettle as it is much more efficient than heating a pot of water on the cooker. - The Dishwasher:
After your meal comes the dreaded dishes. Always remember that a full load of washing is more energy efficient than a half a load, also where possible consider using ESB Customer Supply's Nightsaver Tariff for any dishwasher, and run it at night which costs you less in your electricity bill. Always use the economy setting on your dishwasher unless it?s impossible to do so. - Washer/Dryer:
When it comes to washing and drying your clothes in your washing machines try to select the cycle with the lowest water temperature required for the items being washed to save energy. Also, it goes without saying, but a full load of washing is more energy efficient that two half loads, or even try using a cold rinse for your clothes. When drying your clothes in a tumble dryer dry your heavy articles separately from light articles for more efficient drying, and don?t forget to turn the dryer off as soon as the clothes are dry, make sure not to over dry the clothes as it will run up your electricity bills.
Bathroom
A quick and simple way to reduce the amount of energy consumed in the bathroom is to take a shower rather than a bath. Did you know that a typical shower uses only one fifth of the energy of a full bath? So, treat a bath as a luxury, and use your shower instead.
If you think about the hot water you use in the bathroom and how you use it, there are plenty of ways to save on the energy we use to heat it. Use a timer on your immersion heater so that you heat water only when you actually need it. Also consider a thermostatic mixing valve which can be used to set the water at the same temperature every time the shower is turned on. Indeed you could also think about fitting a spray tap, it delivers a cup of water for every ½ bucket that an ordinary tap delivers, but still allows you to wash in the same way.
Naturally enough a lagging jacket on your hot water cylinder will keep water hotter for longer, but did you know it could pay for itself in 2-3 months in electricity cost savings? It is even better if the cylinder is factory insulated. Make sure that if your central heating boiler is heating your hot water that also you have a cylinder thermostat controlling it. This will help maintain the hot water at the temperature you selected and avoid unnecessary wastage of energy, and remember never leave hot water running unnecessarily, as its costs you in lost energy and money.
Bedroom
We generally need lower lighting levels in the bedroom than in other parts of the house, and the room is generally only lit intermittently, so it easy to save energy here. Light levels can be kept low, and heating can be controlled so the room is warm and cosy by bedtime without wasting your energy.
Switch on electric blankets no more than half an hour before you go to bed and switch them off just before you get into bed. Also, keep the curtains closed at night to insulate the room. A radiator shelf can also help deflect the convection heat currents past the curtains into the room, so they are worth considering as an option for helping to keep the heat in the room. Try to heat bedrooms to less than 18ºC and always make sure you turn off the heat when you're not there. Again it is important to keep lighting levels low and use compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) instead of standard light bulbs.
Living / Dining Room
The living and dining room is where we all tend to relax, but did you know its also where we tend to add most to our energy bill? But be glad to know it's easy to cut out wastage on the lights, heat, TV and DVD equipment usage by using some of these tips.
Make sure you unplug or switch off the TV, DVD, VCR or sound system when you are not using them. Did you know they are still using up to half the energy in "stand-by" mode as to when they are on! If you have a computer in the room you should configure your computer to "energy saving" mode, it will automatically change to the state a low consumption. Also, switching off the screen can save even more energy than letting the screen saver run. Make sure you turn your computer off at night instead of leaving it on as this will save on average 25% of its annual energy bill. If you?re not going to use your computer for more than an hour you should turn it off so that you are not wasting energy.
Try to turn heater controls down or switch them off when the room is warm enough, or even better use thermostatic radiator valves (TRV) to keep the room at a constant and comfortable temperature. These are very effective and efficient if you also have heat coming from an open fire in the room. You could also try using occasional electric heaters fitted with thermostatic controls for comfortable, energy-efficient heating. Make sure to keep the curtains closed at night to retain heat in the room. A radiator shelf can help deflect the convection heat currents past the curtains into the room, also leave enough space for the heat to circulate around the room. Again make sure to light the living room efficiently using compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) or dimmer switches rather than lighting up the whole room unnecessarily.
Visit www.powerofone.ie and for further information on how you can save energy around the home.
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